(Tarik Daoud, left)

Tarik S. Daoud
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

A Cash Donation in honor of Tarik Daoud will be donated to the International Visitors Council of Metropolitan Detroit. As Detroit’s official host of U.S. Department of State sponsored visitors, its mission is to facilitate professional and personal meetings for international professional leaders during official visits to Detroit; to enhance respect and communication through international exchanges and alliances; to promote the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan and their resources; and to promote the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan as important business and cultural centers. For more information about the International Visitors Council of Metropolitan Detroit, log on to www.ivcdetroit.org.

• Nominator: Julie Oldani, Executive Director, IVC of Metropolitan Detroit
• Category: Business

Global Understanding

Giving back to the community has always been important to Tarik Daoud. He is a founding member of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce and has served that organization since its inception. For decades he has been an active participant and leader in organizations that promote cross-cultural understanding and serves on the Arab-American and Chaldean Council, the International Bureau, as a Governor-appointed member of the Bilateral Trade Commission for the Gulf States.

“International relations are more important than ever in this unsettled world. Being a foreign-born American has taught me the lessons about diversity and the necessity for kindness to all of mankind, no matter race, religion or anything else that divides us from each other,” said Daoud.

Commitment & Impact
In November 2007, Tarik Daoud was instrumental in arranging a Program for the U.S. Department of State in Detroit for 17 participants from the Near East and North Africa focusing on Breast Cancer Awareness and Community Outreach. Daoud personally arranged professional, cultural and social engagements for the delegation assuring that their visit was professionally beneficial, that they had an opportunity to visit the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn and to learn how many metropolitan Detroiters emigrated from the Middle East and have settled in metropolitan Detroit still honoring their rich and diverse Middle Eastern traditions.
In April 2007, Daoud led 28 physicians, specialists in cancer, to Qatar for a conference where 3,000 physicians gathered for an international forum. He had an instrumental role in the National Council of International Visitors Midwest Regional Meeting in August 2007. He led many international delegations and demonstrated a commitment to community service and personal diplomacy overseas. Daoud was the founding chair and continues to be active in the International Association of Organ Donation as a board member, corporate donor and spokesman.

To underscore Daoud’s commitment to education of Arab-Americans, he co-founded the Arab-American Scholarship Fund at Wayne State University and founded a similar fund at Eastern Michigan University. He has built ties between Detroit residents and international visitors as a result of his extensive work with the International Visitors Council (IVC) Metropolitan of Detroit.

• “To promote international cooperation and peaceful relations, Daoud continues to work tirelessly to increase mutual understanding. He is an ambassador for Detroit and people from different countries and cultures.”  Kwame M. Kilpatrick, Detroit City Mayor.

• “Tarik Daoud takes his generosity and personal diplomacy overseas to promote mutual understanding and compassion. His life has been dedicated to sharing generously his personal wealth and his deeply-held American values with the world – in his home, in his community, nationally and internationally.”  Larry Chastang, NCIV Board Chair.

Background

A native of Iraq, Tarik Daoud came to the United States at a young age. From early on he chartered his own course, leading to a degree in civil engineering. Little did he know when he began selling cars that the job would lead him to becoming one of Michigan’s largest Ford dealerships. Today, he is a Detroit business leader and one of Michigan’s most active philanthropists. His numerous honors include the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, authorized by the U.S. Congress to recognize achievements of this nation’s foreign-born citizens and the Israel Bonds Israel Peace Medal. Daoud has recently been appointed by President Bush to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, which makes dreams of homeownership come true for Americans of modest means.